Translation guide
The English word "accent" covers several distinct concepts in Japanese. This guide breaks them down by meaning: regional or foreign pronunciation, written diacritics, stress/emphasis in speech, and the musical pitch pattern of words.
Describing the way someone speaks a language, influenced by their native language or region.
He speaks with a French accent. · I love her Southern accent. · He has a strong regional accent.
Most common word for a regional or foreign accent. Can be used for both native dialects and non-native accents.
彼は関西訛りがある。
He has a Kansai accent.
彼女の英語にはフランス語の訛りがある。
Her English has a French accent.
Borrowed from English, often used for foreign accents, but can be ambiguous because it also means 'stress' or 'pitch accent'. Use with care.
May be confused with 'pitch accent' or 'stress'. 訛り is clearer for pronunciation influenced by region or native language.
彼の日本語には外国のアクセントがある。
His Japanese has a foreign accent.
Means 'dialect', not 'accent' per se, but often used when referring to regional speech characteristics. Use when the accent is part of a broader dialect.
彼は東北方言を話す。
He speaks the Tohoku dialect (with a Tohoku accent).
Referring to marks like é, ñ, or ü that appear on letters.
Don't forget the accent on the 'e'. · The word 'café' has an accent.
General term for accent marks in writing.
この単語にはアクセント記号が必要です。
This word needs an accent mark.
Another term for accent marks, slightly more technical.
フランス語ではアクセント符号が重要だ。
Accent marks are important in French.
Specifically the voicing mark (゛) in Japanese kana, sometimes called an 'accent' by learners, but not a true accent mark.
Only for Japanese kana; not a general accent mark.
Highlighting a particular word or syllable by saying it louder or with more force.
The accent is on the second syllable. · Put the accent on the word 'never'.
General word for emphasis or stress. Can be used as a noun or with する.
この文では「絶対」を強調してください。
Please put the accent on 'absolutely' in this sentence.
Can mean stress in linguistics, but often ambiguous. Use 強調 for clarity.
Linguistic term for stress accent. Technical.
The musical pitch pattern that distinguishes words in Japanese, like はし (bridge) vs. はし (chopsticks).
The accent of 雨 is different from 飴. · I'm studying Japanese pitch accent.
Standard term for Japanese pitch accent. Often used in dictionaries and textbooks.
この単語のアクセントを教えてください。
Please tell me the pitch accent of this word.
日本語のアクセントは地域によって違う。
Japanese pitch accent varies by region.
訛り (namari) refers to the overall sound of someone's speech influenced by their region or native language. アクセント (akusento) can mean the same, but it's ambiguous because it also means 'pitch accent' or 'stress'. For foreign or regional accents, 訛り is safer and more natural.
彼の英語には強い日本語訛りがある。
His English has a strong Japanese accent.
If you say アクセント alone, Japanese speakers will likely think of pronunciation, not written marks. Use アクセント記号 or アクセント符号 for diacritics.
「か」に濁点をつけると「が」になる。
Adding a dakuten to か makes it が.
Word stress is important in English.
Japanese uses pitch accent rather than stress accent.
Explicitly 'pitch accent', used to distinguish from stress accent.
日本語は高低アクセントの言語です。
Japanese is a pitch-accent language.
Often used for sentence-level intonation, but sometimes loosely for word accent. Not precise.
Usually refers to sentence melody, not word pitch. Use アクセント for word-level pitch.
日本語のイントネーションは難しい。
Japanese intonation is difficult.